John Moorlach

Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach is unquestionably influential, but whether his influence is good or bad depends on whether you’re asking a sheriff’s deputy.  Since the supervisor took office in December, he’s gone head-to-head with deputies over his proposal to audit their union health care fund, his plan to create a civilian oversight board for the sheriff’s department, and his legal challenge to a retroactive pension benefit deputies got in 2002.

Even if you never checked a poll, you can usually tell the desperate candidate from the front-runner by their campaign literature. The candidates in the lead want you to know about their accomplish- ments and their vision of the future. The ones who trail are so busy telling you why you shouldn't vote for the other guy that they never have time to talk about themselves. And that's a rare sight, indeed: a candidate who doesn't want to talk about himself. So it goes in the race for county supervisor for the 2nd District.

From Sacramento to Santa Ana, Newport-Mesa residents — especially those concerned with fiscal conservatism — can be confident that the results of the November election has left them in good hands with Tom Harman in the state Senate, Chuck DeVore in the Assembly and John Moorlach in a county supervisor's seat. Harman, a former Huntington Beach mayor and councilman, served ably in the Assembly, albeit in the minority party. As a centrist Republican, he learned to work well with the Democrats, who control the Assembly, and he was able to push legislation through that improved safety standards on playground equipment and made it easier to dispose of personal property in wills.

Campbell endorsed by John Moorlach State Sen. John Campbell announced Friday he's bagged an endorsement from Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector John Moorlach in the 48th District congressional race. Shortly after former Rep. Chris Cox was nominated to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission, Moorlach debated running for the House seat himself, but he decided to stick to his campaign for the 2nd District Orange County Supervisor's seat. Campbell, a Republican, is one of 10 GOP hopefuls who will face off in a special primary Oct. 4. A total of 17 candidates will appear on the ballot.

-- Andrew Glazer John Moorlach, Orange County's Treasurer-Tax Collector, will host a workshop on managing municipal finances next month in Costa Mesa. Moorlach, most famous for predicting the county's 1994 bankruptcy, will lead the full-day conference, titled "Orange County Finances: 2000 and Beyond," at the Doubletree Hotel. Speakers will include UC Irvine professor Mark Baldassare, who will discuss how county residents are faring economically. Kevin Bannon, chief investment officer of Bank of New York, will discuss the state of the national and global economy.

Moorlach would make a great supervisor Run Johnny run. This is in response to the Monday story, "Treasurer considering supervisor run." John Moorlach, who has lived in Costa Mesa for 20 years, is eyeing a 2nd District seat opening in 2006. On this Thanksgiving that is good news for the people of Newport-Mesa and Orange County. Imagine having someone who is capable and well-trained for the office of supervisor. He might even represent us. So run Johnny run. See Johnny run. See Johnny run for supervisor.

Reader gives Moorlach an "F" for grade on Measure A The problem with Orange County Treasurer John Moorlach's "A" for the proposed Newport-Mesa Unified School District school bond Measure A is in the fact that the criteria he uses in giving the mark assumes the money is needed ("Measure A gets an 'A' from Moorlach," May 12). It isn't. Call it junk in, junk out. Moorlach's methodology would be a little like going to a garage and getting a new transmission for your car without first determining if a transmission is needed at all. If Moorlach were using a similar criteria for the transmission replacement, he would start with the assumption that one is needed.

Fowl play in the newsroom Every year, Times Community News Editor Bill Lobdell counts his blessings -- most of which come in the form of the community he lives in, the people he encounters and his family. Usually he likes to put the names of his employees in his annual column. However, this year he couldn't squeeze all of them in because the news division -- some 350 employees -- is growing by the day. You would be surprised what people will do to get their names in the column.

Paul Clinton As he pursues Orange County's top staff job, John Moorlach is looking to a local role model for working with five elected officials who usually have five different points of view. Moorlach, a Mesa Verde resident who works as Orange County's treasurer, has put his name on the short list to replace Michael Schumacher as the Orange County chief executive. If named to the post, he'll partly model his management style after Costa Mesa City Manager Allan Roeder's.

They are the orphans of news reporting. They are the people whose stories come and go as fast as flash paper, who make the news for their initial excitement, only to find that when it's time to tell their epilogue, no one cares. Jerome Wilhoit learned that in our society, innocence is irrelevant. What really matters is media portrayal of your story and how much mileage a source can get out of you. Three years ago, Wilhoit, an Orange County teacher, was accused of being far too friendly with his students.

COSTA MESA — It's no surprise that any move made by city leaders can get people talking — and worrying. When Costa Mesa CEO Tom Hatch named Rick Francis as his new assistant CEO, starting in early January, many wanted to know why he would leave his job as chief of staff for Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach. Others wanted to know how his work with the county would translate to city government. And a few even wondered about his time as a pastor for Newport Mesa Church in Costa Mesa.

I've learned the hard way to listen to John Moorlach. In 1994, when he was running for Orange County treasurer-tax collector, Moorlach walked into my office at the Daily Pilot with a foot-high stack of documents. "It's all here," said Moorlach, then a Costa Mesa CPA who read financial reports as accurately as NFL quarterback Peyton Manning reads defenses. "Orange County will go bankrupt if interest rates move up even a little. Please, please, please, do the story. " Moorlach handed me what could have been my Pulitzer Prize.

Editor's Note: This corrects an earlier version. In response to a letter from David Bunnell (“Could public become fair share holders”, April 8): Mr. Bunnell, Thanks for the e-mail and the letter to the editor the Daily Pilot. Believe it or not, but this is known as the “Green Bay Packers” solution. I explored this idea a few months ago. This Wisconsin football franchise is owned by the Green Bay area residents. That’s why you are put on a waiting list, which could take decades, to obtain season tickets.

In a lengthy e-mail to his constituents Wednesday, Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach called fellow Supervisor Janet Nguyen a “yeller,” and said her management style was to “bite people’s heads off.” “If she doesn’t get her way, then she’ll excoriate you,” Moorlach wrote. Moorlach sent out the angry e-mail one day after he cast a lone, dissenting vote against selecting Nguyen to be the next chairman of the county Board of Supervisors.

Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman John Moorlach hasn’t been shy about his opposition to the grassroots Newport Beach annexation efforts of Santa Ana Country Club and a nearby neighborhood. Now the residents’ application for annexation is set to expire, and a representative from the group said he plans to meet with the supervisor and ask him to give the residents another shot. “We’re going to try to talk him out of blocking us,” said Cal McLaughlin, who has led Newport Beach annexation efforts in a neighborhood known as Area 7 or South of Mesa Drive.

Orange County faces state budget cuts, dwindling tax revenue and rising crime rates, Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman John Moorlach said in his State of the County address Tuesday. “When economic cycles happen, they impact both the public sector and the private sector,” Moorlach said. “We need to be prepared. We are seeing more stress on our system.” Moorlach said one of the board’s biggest priorities this year will be fiscal transparency.